Republicans Decline Cawthorn’s Invite for Re-election
By Bella Kumar
U.S. Representative Madison Cawthorn — who at 26 is the youngest member of Congress — has dominated the headlines. The Republican from North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District has been trending on Twitter for his alleged congressional orgy invitation, alleged participation in insider trading, and vote against the 2020 election certification.
Even with Cawthorn’s newfound fame, new polling from Data for Progress reveals that 62 percent of voters have not seen, read, or heard anything at all about him in the last few weeks.
Yet, based on what they know, voters disapprove of Cawthorn’s handling of his job as a member of Congress by a -13-point margin, including Democrats by a -28-point margin and Independents by a -13-point margin. However, 57 percent of voters report that they do not know, including 50 percent of Democrats, 58 percent of Independents, and 63 percent of Republicans.
After being informed of some of his behaviors, a majority of voters express concern about at least some of Cawthorn’s actions. Among voters:
49 percent are very concerned about him running in a congressional district that he does not live in
52 percent are very concerned about him participating in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021
53 percent are very concerned about him claiming without evidence that there is "a large group of cartels, kidnapping our American children and then taking them to sell them on a slave market"
50 percent are very concerned about him voting not to certify the 2020 election results and claiming the election was fraudulent
51 percent are very concerned about him calling Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "thug" and arguing that the Ukrainian government is "incredibly corrupt" and "incredibly evil"
53 percent are very concerned about him falsely claiming he was accepted into the U.S. Naval Academy
63 percent are very concerned about him attempting to bring a loaded gun onto a plane
47 percent are very concerned about him driving with a suspended license
Cawthorn has also been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women. Voters are upset about these accusations, with 59 percent stating that they are very concerned about this behavior, including 76 percent of Democrats, 60 percent of Independents, and 43 percent of Republicans.
Upon being informed of Cawthorn’s actions and accusations, voters disapprove of his handling of the job by a -59-point margin, including Democrats by a -75-point margin, Independents by a -64-point margin, and Republicans by a -41-point margin.
Seventy-five percent of voters agree that Republican leaders in Congress should discipline Cawthorn, including 84 percent of Democrats, 76 percent of Independents, and 64 percent of Republicans.
A majority of voters (69 percent) also conclude that Cawthorn should resign from Congress. This includes 82 percent of Democrats, 71 percent of Independents, and 55 percent of Republicans.
Once presented with messages about Cawthorn’s multiple scandals, even majorities of Republicans agree that he should not only face discipline from his party’s leaders, but also resign from office.
Bella Kumar is a communications intern at Data for Progress.